Bikaneri bhujia, often simply called ''bhujia'', is a popular crispy snack prepared by using moth bean flour and

gram The gram (originally gramme; SI unit symbol g) is a unit of mass in the International System of Units (SI) equal to one one thousandth of a kilogram. Originally defined as of 1795 as "the absolute weight of a volume of pure water equal to th ...

flour and spices, originating from

Bikaner Bikaner () is a city in the northwest of the state of Rajasthan, India. It is located northwest of the state capital, Jaipur. Bikaner city is the administrative headquarters of Bikaner District and Bikaner division. Formerly the capital of ...

, a city in the western state of

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern s ...

in India. It is light yellow in colour. Bhujia has become not just a characteristic product of Bikaner, but also a generic name. Bikaneri bhujia is a cottage industry in Bikaner, Rajasthan, and provides employment to around 2.5 million people in villages of the region, especially women, and recently it has faced competition with multinational companies like Pepsico as well as Indian snack companies, which have used the name bhujia. After struggling with numerous copycats over the years, in September 2010, the

Indian Patent Office The Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks (CGPDTM) generally known as the Indian Patent Office, is an agency under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade which administers the Indian law of ...

confirmed the

Geographical Indications A geographical indication (GI) is a name or sign used on products which corresponds to a specific geographical location or origin (e.g., a town, region, or country). The use of a geographical indication, as an indication of the product's source, ...

rights and a patent was issued for the brand name ''Bikaneri bhujia'' to local manufacturers of Bikaner.

History

In 1877, during the reign of Maharaja Shri Dungar Singh, the first batch of bhujia was produced in the princely state of Bikaner.

Preparation

A dough of

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

, garbanzo bean,

gram flour Gram flour or kadala maavu is a pulse flour made from a variety of ground chickpea called Bengal gram or ''kaala chana''. It is a staple ingredient in the cuisine of the Indian subcontinent, including in Indian, Bangladeshi, Burmese, Nepali, ...

and spices including powdered cellulose, salt, red chilli, black pepper, cardamom, cloves, etc. is made into the snack by pressing it through a sieve and deep frying in vegetable oil. In large parts of India, particularly

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

, Maharashtra,

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West ...

and

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...

, it is a standard accompaniment to any meal.

Geographical Indication protection

In October 2008, Bikaneri bhujia was granted

Geographical Indication A geographical indication (GI) is a name or sign used on products which corresponds to a specific geographical location or origin (e.g., a town, region, or country). The use of a geographical indication, as an indication of the product's source, ...

protection.A copyright for Bikaneri bhujia
The list has grown from 120 to 132, adding Bikaneri bhujia from Rajasthan. Getting the GI tag will ensure that none other than those registered as authorized users (or at most those residing inside the geographic territory) are allowed to use the popular product name, an assurance of distinctiveness in a land of thousand cultures.

References

External links

Bikaneri Bhujia Recipe
at ''Tarla Dalal''
Pitaara Bikaneri Bhujia

Bikaneri Bhujia in making

Bikaneri Bhujia in making
{{Indian dishes Bikaner Indian snack foods Rajasthani cuisine Deep fried foods Geographical indications in Rajasthan

History

Preparation

Geographical Indication protection

See also

References

External links